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Logitech Squeezebox

With the popularity of MP3 players, especially the Apple iPod range of music players, MP3 files which store audio files are one of the world's most popular portable devices. Computers, car stereos, gaming consoles and even some stereo systems support this popular format, however they are limited to the size of the CD or the hard drive of the unit which can make some tricky transfers.

With that said, Logitech have created a very impressive device called the "Squeezebox"  which wirelessly streams audio from your computer to this unit and you can connect it to your home entertainment setup. This means that you can listen to all your MP3 music on your computer, create playlists and even listen to internet radio wireless, all in crystal clear clarity. It should also be noted that the Squeezebox supports a wide variety of music formats that include MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, AAC and Ogg.

Features

    * Connectivity
    * Ethernet, Wireless

    * File formats supported
    * MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG

    * Wireless standards
    * 802.11g

With its sleek jet black design, Logitech's Squeezebox will not look out of place in a variety of different environments, whether home, office or even for public functions. The Squeezebox also boasts all the connections which include RCA, digital and 3.5mm audio jacks.

To power the device, you simply connect the device into a spare power socket and the device is almost ready to be used. It should be noted that the device also comes in white, for lovers of the Apple iPod range.

Installation? What installation. The installation of the Squeezebox was quite a simplistic process and it comes with a handy quick start guide in order to set the device up.

Before connecting the device to our PC, we needed to install the Squeeze Centre software which allows you to stream music from your computer to the Squeezebox wireless and even listen to internet radio.

The only problem with the software is that it does not come with the unit and you need to download this product from the internet which is a little strange and our only complain with the device. Although it does allow for the latest version, however it would have been nice if this was included.

After the software was installed, it was a simply process of following the quick installation guide and the only "tricky" part of the installation was finding out the WEP address from our wireless modem/router which needed to be inputted into the device. The device flawless picked up our wireless network and was quite a simple process navigating on the Squeezebox this information.

Once installed, it was back to our computer which was about 10 metres away from the Squeezebox to start using the device. The software is quite intuitive and easy to use and we easily setup a variety of different playlists that streamed flawless to the device.

The inbuilt speakers of the Squeezebox is quite impressive and the clarity was amazing for such a small unit. We were even impressed on the amount of volume that was available on the unit. You can control the music on the device either through the PC or through the remote control which comes with the unit and this is quite a simplistic process. The device also boasts  an Alarm clock and the LCD on the unit neatly displays the tracks and menus of the Squeezebox which is quite easy to read.

For a recommended retail price of $449.095 (AUD), the Squeezebox from Logitech is a great option for streaming your music formats to either the unit itself or an home entertainment setup. It features easy installation, brilliant streaming and a very impressive quality to the music. The device looks great in the modern or pre-existing home and we could happily recommend this device to anyone who wishes to stream their music from their PC's.